A Monhegan Island Specialty
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup molasses
2 teaspoons baking soda
⅓ cup warm coffee
1 teaspoon vinegar
8 cardamom seeds, crushed
6 tablespoons orange juice
rind of 2 oranges
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
about 8 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 375°. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs, molasses, coffee, and juice. Mix well. Add grated orange to the mix with the flour and spices. Roll out the dough to ¼-inch thickness and cut them out with a cookie cutter. Bake cookies 12 to 15 minutes.
Makes 23 dozen cookies [editor’s note: great for a cookie exchange]. Recipe halves easily.
Recipe contributed by Lynn Cooke and excerpted from the upcoming Harvard Woman’s Club cookbook Apple Blossoms and Harvest Time: Recipes from Harvard Kitchens.
